Services for ECO
Please note: All information contained within this section is for guidance only. It is best that you check current sources of information.
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Areas covered under this Category are as follows:
- Air to Air Heating
- Air to Water Heating
- Bio-Mass Heating
- Ecological
- Ground Source Heating
- Heat Exchangers
- Hydro Power
- Micro Generation
- Solar Heating
- Underground Heating
- Wind Turbines
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NHIC membership comprises many of the most important companies and organisations operating in the home improvement sector - www.nhic.org.uk
The Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) - www.eca.co.uk - Is the trade association representing the interests of contractors who design, install, inspect, test and maintain electrical and electronic equipment and building services in England and Wales. Founded in 1901, it has over 3,000 Registered Members, ranging from local contractors to national building services organisations.
Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas appliances. By law only a Gas Safe registered engineer can fit, fix or service your gas appliances. Always check the engineer's Gas Safe Register ID card. To check an engineer is currently registered visit www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk.
The Gas Safety Trust is the UK's leading gas/fuel safety charity providing funding for, and supporting: Research, Training and Education, Lobbying and Evidence Gathering and Information into to gas and fossil fuels safety. The Trust works in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties, including governments - www.gas-safety-trust.org.uk.
Founded in 1900, SELECT - www.select.org.uk is the trade association that represents the interests of electrical contractors operating throughout Scotland. There are now over 1200 members, from small local contractors to large UK companies, accredited in one of eight technical disciplines giving SELECT member companies proven capability across a wide range of design, manufacturing, testing and commissioning skills.
NAPIT was formed in 1992 as the National Association for Professional Inspectors and Testers - www.napit.org.uk - its members are active in the Domestic, Commercial and Industrial sectors and members can register and be assessed by NAPIT in the fields of electrical installation, plumbing, heating and ventilation (which includes air conditioning).
BPEC - www.bpec.org.uk
Construction Skills - www.cskills.org
CORGI - www.corgiservices.com
Heat Pump Association (HPA) - www.heatpumps.org.uk
Heating & Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA) - www.hvca.org.uk
Institute of Domestic Heating & Environmental Engineers - www.idhee.org.uk
OFTEC - www.oftec.org
Renewable Energy Association - www.r-e-a.net
SAFEcontractor - www.safecontractor.com
Scottish Joint Industry Board - www.sjib.org.uk
UK Rainwater Harvesting Association - www.ukrha.org
- AES Solar systems
- Sollatek
- FuturEnergy
- Kloben
- Solar Twin
- Acid rain: Rain with increased acidity due to absorption of airborne pollutants such as C02 and sulphur dioxide.
- Anemometer: device that measures wind speed.
- Biodiesel: a form of biomass energy derived from natural oils, such as soybean or grains.
- Biomass Energy: also known as "bioenergy," it is the energy created by plants and plant-derived materials.
- Blade: the part of a wind generator rotor that catches the wind.
- Capacity: the maximum load a generating unit is rated to carry.
- Downwind: refers to a horizontal axis wind turbine in which the hub and blades point away from the wind direction.
- Drag: the force exerted on an object by moving air.
- Eco friendly: something that is believed to be less harmful to the environment than a common alternative.
- Ecological footprint: is the measurement of human demand upon the Earth's ecosystem.
- Ecosytem: where plants and animals inhabit a given space, the interactions between the different species, and the interactions between the species and their environment.
- Efficiency: the ratio of energy output to energy input in a device.
- Embodied energy: denotes the amount of energy that was used in the manufacture of a product,
- Energy mix: the distribution or proportion of different energy sources within the total energy supply
- Ground source heat pump: a heat pump installation that uses the earth as a heat sink to store heat or as a source of heat.
- Heat exchanger: are used to transfer heat from one substance to either its surroundings or another substance.
- Heat pump rating: A heat pump is given a kW heat output rating.
- Hub: the center of a wind generator rotor, which holds the blades in place and attaches to the shaft.
- Hydropower: Also known as hydroelectric power, this energy is derived from the force of moving water
- Insulation: any material high in resistance to heat transmission that, when placed in the walls, ceiling, or floors of a structure, and will reduce the rate of heat flow.
- Joist hanger: a metal "u" shaped item used to support the end of a floor joist and attached with hardened nails to another bearing joist or beam.
- Juliet balcony: a shallow balcony designed to provide a safety barrier in front of French windows.
- Kilowatt (kW): one thousand watts of electricity.
- kWh: the work performed by one kilowatt of electric power in one hour.
- Leading edge: the edge of a blade that faces toward the direction of rotation.
- Losses: a term applied to energy (kWh) and capacity (kW) lost in the operation of an electric system.
- Low carbon energy: this term refers to technologies which minimise the amount of carbon (or greenhouse gas) emitted into the atmosphere.
- Microgeneration: is the generation of heat or power by renewable or low carbon means, by individuals, businesses or people for their own use.
- Miscanthus: Is a fast growing grass that can be turned into pellets and used as biomass fuel.
- Passive solar heating and day lighting: to capture the heat from the sun to warm buildings.
- Payback: length of time it takes for the savings received to cover the cost of implementing a technology.
- Photovoltaic (PV) cell: an electronic device consisting of layers of semiconductor materials made to form a junction and electrical contacts and being capable of converting incident light directly into electricity.
- Photovoltaic (PV) module: an integrated assembly of interconnected photovoltaic cells designed to deliver a selected level of working voltage and current.
- Renewable energy: energy generated from sustainable natural resources, such as sun, wind, water and geothermal heat.
- Shaft: the rotating part in the center of a wind generator or motor that transfers power.
- Solar hot water: a system that uses solar radiation to produce heat energy for domestic hot water.
- Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems: These systems utilize solar cells to directly convert sunlight into electricity. Solar panels usually consist of solar cells.
- Solar thermal energy: Energy produced by using the sun's rays to heat a gas or liquid that to perform useful work, such as powering an electrical generator.
- Thermal stores: These are tanks that store the primary hot water that is distributed around the central heating system. They also act as a heat leak which is required with a biomass boiler
- Tidal power: captures the pull of the sun and the moon harnessing the power of the tides through underwater turbines.
- Tip: the end of a wind generator blade farthest from the hub.
- Tower: structure that supports a wind generator, usually high in the air.
- Voltage (V): the value of the electrical potential between two points in a circuit.
- Wattage (W): unit of power.
- Watt-hour: one watt of power expended for one hour.
- Wave power: captures the energy from waves on the surface of the ocean.
- Wind energy: is the power generated by air in motion.
- Wind turbine: a machine that captures the force of the wind to produce electricity.
- Windward: toward the direction from which the wind blows.
- Wood pellets: sawdust compressed into pellets to be burned in a heating stove.
- Yaw: rotation parallel to the ground. a wind generator yaws to face winds coming from different directions.
- Zero carbon home: A house that produces no net C02 emissions from the energy used by people living in it. However, does not include initial construction materials.